Deciding to learn to become a bookkeeper means you should also be willing to invest in this career path. As a virtual bookkeeper, you have the unique freedom to choose who to work with. You’ll be the one to source out your clients, and you can carefully select the ones you can serve best. At your request, QuickBooks will conduct a full evaluation of your bookkeeper’s work. Make sure you’re on the same page about their pricing structure to avoid any billing hassles or hidden costs. Once you get an idea receivables turnover ratio – definition of how much they charge, compare it to other reputable bookkeepers.

The American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers offers certification for experienced bookkeepers. You will learn how to record costs, value inventory, calculate depreciation, analyze financial statements, and use software programs. The courses cover bookkeeping, Microsoft Excel, business math, and payroll administration. Generally speaking, bookkeepers help collect and organize data and may have certain certifications to do so for your business. On the other hand, accountants are generally equipped with an accounting degree and may even be state-certified CPAs. You can expect most bookkeepers to maintain the general ledger and accounts while the accountant is there to create and interpret more complex financial statements.

Consider earning a degree.

This makes bookkeeping a popular choice for those without degrees or those ready for a career change. Typically, single entry bookkeeping is suitable for keeping track of cash, taxable income, and tax deductible expenses. The BLS projects 6% occupational growth for accountants between 2023 and 2033, with 130,800 openings yearly.

How Intuit helps tax and bookkeeping pros do their best work

Small businesses may prefer to handle their books themselves, but hiring a professional bookkeeper can be helpful. Whether you do the bookkeeping yourself or hire someone to do it, certain elements are fundamental to properly maintaining the books. Some of these elements are done more regularly than others to ensure that the books are always up to date. Other elements are completed at certain time periods current ratio and working capital as necessary to complete a business task. For preparatory courses and workbooks, AIPB charges $254 for members and $314 for members. The final two parts of the exam are free and included in the workbooks.

What jobs can you get with a bookkeeping certificate?

1. Being attentive to your business as it’s growing is crucial when it comes to reaching your goals.
2. Both credentials require you to complete a four-part exam, but the scope varies.
3. The first is the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB), and the second is the National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers (NACPB).
4. Individuals who are successful bookkeeping professionals are highly organized, can balance ledgers accurately, have an eye for detail and are excellent communicators.

While single-entry bookkeeping is simpler, double-entry is more cost of debt thorough and less likely to produce errors. To become a CB, AIPB asks for a registration fee of $25 for members and $60 for nonmembers. The organization also offers one-, two-, and three-year memberships at discounted prices.

Entrepreneur magazine ranked accounting, bookkeeping and tax services as the “most profitable” small business. You’re essentially training to become a virtual bookkeeper, which means you’ll be working remotely — most likely as a third-party service provider to businesses. Broadly, a bookkeeper’s job is to manage the books by keeping track of day-to-day business finances.

This content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals. The expected job decline is primarily due to cloud computing and other software innovations automating bookkeeping tasks that a person would normally do.